Will restricting animal tranquilizer cut down on drug overdose deaths in SC?

Lawmakers set their sights on curtailing drugs contributing to 2,279 overdose deaths in 2022 in South Carolina.

There were more than 6,000 overdose deaths from 2018-2021.

The emphasis on needing laws dealing with drugs was prominent. Lawmakers passed a bill reclassifying Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that is often mixed with fentanyl, sometimes without the user knowing.

Multiple lawmakers were disappointed or regretful about the Fentanyl bill that would have created a drug induced homicide law. It died in the House, despite the Senate vote result of 43-0.

Xylazine’s presence in South Carolina or non-animal use has had a staggering increase. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s (DHEC) Division of Biostatistics reported a 379% increase in Xylazine involved deaths in South Carolina between 2020 and 2021. The report added that there was a continued elevation of Xylazine-involved deaths in 2023.

The drug will now be considered a Schedule III controlled substance under South Carolina law. It will also ensure that manufacturing or distributing the drug for uses other than veterinary ones would result in a felony charge and up to 10 years imprisonment and/or up to a $15,000 fine. The non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer is not approved for use in humans. According to NIH, people exposed to xylazine often knowingly or unknowingly used it in combination with other drugs, particularly illicit fentanyl.

Other states have passed similar legislation, including Florida, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Xylazine can be inhaled, smoked, snorted injected or swallowed, and effects last 20-50 minutes.

Advocates, lawmakers, law enforcement and others were thrilled with the reclassification bill to hopefully decrease the number of deaths or usage in general in South Carolina with the penalties associated and the understanding it is a drug that could be abused.

The fentanyl bill would have created a felony offense for anyone who committed a drug-induced homicide. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he was disappointed it didn’t pass the House.

“I am a little bit disappointed that we were not able to get S. 1, which was a number one priority, but it dealt with trying to prevent more fentanyl deaths,” Massey said. “I’m disappointed that the House wasn’t able to move that across the finish line.”

House Judiciary Committee Chair Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, said the reason the bill failed was due to time delays and “certain antics,” that caused the House to “run out of runway.” Newton was referencing to Republican infighting over the last two days of session. He added there was still some concerns on the bill that they were working through.

“We wanted to make sure that what we were that we were not passing legislation that would allow two teenagers who may be sharing drugs together that allowed one of them to be charged with homicide, because the there was fentanyl in the material,” Newton said.